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Monday, April 20, 2015

Book Review: Fire (Graceling Realm #2) by: Kristin Cashore

"It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. The young King Nash clings to his throne while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. The mountains and forests are filled with spies and thieves and lawless men.This is where Fire lives. With a wild, irresistible appearance and hair the color of flame, Fire is the last remaining human monster. Equally hated and adored, she had the unique ability to control minds, but she guards her power, unwilling to steal the secrets of innocent people. Especially when she has so many of her own.Then Prince Brigan comes to bring her to King City, The royal family needs her help to uncover the plot against the king. Far away from home, Fire begins to realize there's more to her power than she ever dreamed. Her power could save the kingdom.If only she weren't afraid of becoming the monster her father was."

My Thoughts:

I have been meaning to read this book forever now! So when I saw my library had the audio, I finally decided to dive right into it. For me, Fire wasn’t as good as Graceling but it was still a really good book. Kristin Cashore has crafted a beautiful and crazy and dangerous world that is just so easy to get lost in.Fire is an amazing heroine! I loved her so damn much! She is so strong and so smart and genuinely likable. She has an insane amount of power! She can control minds and she is distractingly beautiful; she is a Monster, the last of her kind. However, she isn’t one to jump and use her power for the fun of it. She is kind and thinks her actions through. She is willing to do tough things for the better of others and did I mention she was smart? Because I truly love how smart she is! She knows when to act alone and she knows when she needs help and when she finds herself in danger she gets herself out of trouble! She doesn’t need anyone to save her. Brigan is the other character I fell in love with! I loved him so much. He is another strong character, both physically and mentally. He is quiet and thoughtful and a true leader. He looks out for his soldiers and truly has their best interest at heart. I just adored him.With the romance though… it was such a slow burn and I both loved it and hated it. I just wanted them to KISS ALREADY! But in reality, it was truly beautiful how slowly it built and was formed on trust and friendship. But still…. I could have used some more kissing.Fire is a very different from Graceling though. Fire is more of a mental game with a lot of political moving and scheming. We spend a lot of the book hearing that “war is coming” but it takes a LONG time for that war to come. The story is more about the spying and mind games that lead up to a war you know is bound to happen but hasn’t happened yet. And then when the war finally comes, you see it all from the sidelines and experience it from that point of view and simply hear about what is happening. While that is all very interesting and I did enjoy the maneuvers, Graceling is more my kind of speed when it comes to a story.The thing I struggled with the most in Fire is not a thing but a who. I couldn't stand Archer. It got to the point where every time he showed up I rolled my eyes so hard I could see my brain. He was overbearing and overprotective and controlling and stifling and all in the name of love. But here's the catch. He "loves" Fire but then continues to sleep around with the world. Umm no. That's not how this works. You can't be in love with Fire and want to marry her while continuing to get your kicks elsewhere ESPECIALLY when Fire is sleeping with you as well. Just a whole lotta nope for him. Because of this I really struggled with how much Fire cared for Archer, I understood it… I mean she grew up with him and was capable of being a good friend… but I just couldn’t stand him.As for the narrator, she wasn’t my favorite but she wasn’t bad either. Sometimes I felt as if she read too slowly and some of her character voices were meh but I really liked her voice for Fire, so I guess that is what matters most.All in all, Fire was a good read and high fantasy fans are sure to enjoy it. It delivers a great heroine and a wonderful world and is captivating beginning to end.

5 comments:

I love when you encounter characters you just instantly fall for! And I understand about the romance, those kinds can be so frustrating, but in the good way. You really couldn't stand that Archer guy LOL!

You are just knocking these reads out left and right thanks to these audio books! I am so happy these are working for you (even if this narrator wasn't your favorite)! This sounds good (aside from Archer). I love a slow burn -- but HEY! Get with the kissing, characters! LOL! Fabulous review -- you're going to make a high fantasy fan out of me yet!

Heather has been dying for me to read this one forever now, so I definitely need to try and get them higher on my TBR. I'm sorry this one wasn't quite as action packed and swoony as you hoped. I'm a little nervous now because this Archer doesn't sound like someone I'm going to like, especially if Brigan is so awesome. Is it overly love triangley?

Disclaimer

In accordance with the FTC Guidelines, I would like you all to know that all of the books I review are either purchased by myself, received as a gift, borrowed from a library, or received free from the author/publisher for review. No form of monetary compensation is involved.